With Leonard Fournette off to the NFL, the Tigers are expected to feature senior running back Darrel Williams and junior running back Nick Brossette as backups to junior running back Derrius Guice.
“We all just gotta come in, step in and just bring what we bring to the table,” Williams said. “Just like when Terrence [Magee] and Kenny [Hilliard] left me, and Leonard had to step [up] and do the best we could do for this team.”
Williams has been on the backend of the log jam at the running back position his entire career, and saw an opportunity his sophomore year slip through his hands when he was passed up by Guice. Williams, who slimmed down to 225 pounds this offseason at the urging of former running backs coach Jabbar Juluke, is ready to attack his second chance.
“It feels a whole lot better,” Williams said, regarding his weight loss. “I feel a lot faster, a lot quicker. I just wanted to be back to my old self.”
Williams was playing around 240 pounds last season, and said he felt slow. The weight even earned him a nickname around teammates: “Fat Darrel”.
“What really motivated me is my mama started calling me fat,” Williams said. “My mama never called me fat. For her to call me fat, I realized I really am fat.”
The senior has been in the program longer than any running back on the roster, but the depth ahead of him limited him to only 176 carries, 831 yards and 10 touchdowns through his first three years.
The powerful running back said he sees himself as a fit for Matt Canada’s new offensive scheme.
“It’s a great offense,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of shifts, movements and motions. I think it will be hard for the defense.”
As for Brossette, he will be two years removed from a knee injury that ended his freshman season. The tailback said he feels faster and stronger, and that he has been working on his pad-level with running backs coach Tommie Robinson.
“Definitely, going into this year, I am ready,” Brossette said. “I got stronger and faster, and I feel like this going to be a big year for me. Keep doing the little things, and everything will take care of itself.”
Brossette, who will have his third position coach in three seasons, said the lack of consistency is frustrating but he is happy to have Robinson as his coach.
“I like coach Robinson,” Brossette said. “He recruited me when he was at Texas, and I have been having a relationship with him for a while now. Just for him to come in here and take on the role of coaching us it’s an honor.”
The former four-star recruit has 27 career carries for 210 yards, 73 of which came on five carries against Missouri.
Brossette, who is now referred to as Nicholas thanks to coach Robinson, is eager to see what he can accomplish in 2017. While the coaches have not defined his role, Brossette said he will do what he can to the best of his abilities.
“Just working on my game,” Brossette said about this spring. “Learn the offense better and everything about the offense, that is a really big thing for me. Whatever the coaches want me to do, I am going to do it to the best of my abilities.”
LSU sophomore running back Nick Brossette (4) celebrates during the Tigers' 42-7 victory against Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 in Tiger Stadium.
